Kim had no idea where she was. After driving for about ten miles on minor roads she saw signposts for an interstate to New Haven, but had no idea where New Haven was. After another twenty or so miles there were exit signs to New Haven and route signs to Bridgeport and Stamford. She recognised the name of Stamford because of the university, but still had no idea where it was in relation to New York.
She had several other problems too. She was naked but for the white lace lingerie and stockings, and her feet were still manacled. Fortunately there was enough play in the chain to allow her to drive, but she couldn't stop anywhere to ask directions or go to a diner or a bar to pee, which she desperately needed to do.
After a few more miles she decided to turn off the interstate and try to find a quiet hedgerow where she could relieve herself and search the car properly for maps. It was also possible that Nina had a case in the boot, or at the very least a coat to wear.
After a little further she noticed a gate leading into the corner of a field. The gate was set in a tall beech hedge. She hopped out of the car, opened the gate, and then managed to manoeuvre the low slung car over the tractor-rutted ground without scrapping the bottom.
Fortunately it was a balmy night. Kim got out of the car and squatted down behind the hedge, peeing a fierce stream. Greatly relieved, she walked back to the car and opened the boot. Apart from a smart tool kit it was empty. There was nothing behind the seats either, and the only thing in the glove compartment was a small leather make-up case. There were no maps and no clothes.
She opened Nina's small handbag. There was a wallet containing a platinum credit card, store cards, and about five hundred dollars in cash. That would certainly buy her fuel, but she imagined that, like in England, the bigger filling stations would be self-service, and she certainly couldn't see herself filling the Ferrari's tank and walking over to pay dressed as she was. She supposed it might just be possible that she could find a garage with an attendant, which would mean she wouldn't have to get out of the car. And if it was dark and the forecourt not too brightly lit it was possible they might just see her top half and imagine she was wearing a low cut and rather revealing evening dress.
She turned on the ignition to check the fuel. The gauge read half full. She had no idea how much fuel a Ferrari used, but was sure it was a lot. How far it would get her she didn't know, and what was worse, she didn't know how far she had to get.
She started the car again and backed out onto the top road. She drove back up to the interstate, then stopped before committing herself to the slip road. She reckoned she had a better chance of finding a small filling station with an attendant on the smaller roads. And the filling stations on the interstate would all be brightly lit. On the other hand, they would be open twenty-four hours, whereas the ones on the minor roads might not. She hesitated, not knowing what to do, then decided she had to do something and turned right onto the minor road that ran parallel to the interstate.
The Ferrari was a handful to drive. Even the gentlest of touches on the accelerator sent it shooting forward at an alarming rate, and several times Kim had to brake severely as she was going into a corner. The view of the interstate soon disappeared and she found herself in the middle of the countryside with signposts to Woodbridge, Ansonia, Derby and Huntingon - all places she had never heard of.
She wondered if Nina would have called the police about the car. It was, after all, an expensive machine. She doubted that she would, however. Trying to explain who was driving the car and how she was dressed would be much too difficult and might lead to some very awkward questions. She was sure Jake Ashley would have advised Nina to keep quiet.
There was not a single filling station, open or closed, anywhere on the road. She drove on and on, not knowing whether she was getting close to New York or further away, and watching the fuel gauge dip at an alarming rate.
At last she saw way ahead what she thought might be the lighted sign of a petrol station on top of a pole. As she got closer she saw that's exactly what it was. If the sign was illuminated, she reasoned, the garage must be open. And it was.
The filling station was small and smart, with three pumps in a row. But her heart sunk as she saw that not only was the forecourt brightly lit, but also there were signs telling her it offered all the convenience of self-service. She glanced anxiously at the fuel gauge again. It was perilously close to empty and she simply dare not drive on; there might not be another garage for miles. She was just going to have to brave it out.
She pulled the car onto the forecourt. About twenty yards from the pumps at the back was a small booth made from plate-glass. There was an attendant sitting on a stool behind the counter. He appeared to be reading a book.
Kim got out of the car, feeling more naked than she ever had in her entirely life, intensely aware that her sex and buttocks were completely exposed. She didn't even know where the filler cap was on the car and had to walk around the back bumper to look for it. The high heels clacked on the concrete and the chain on the manacles rattled.
She found the cap and inserted the nozzle of the pump into it. Unfortunately it was on the side of the car nearest the attendant, and she had to stand with her back to him, the shimmering white stockings with their deep lace welts held taut by the tight suspenders that stretched down from the cami-bra, the muscles of her long legs firmed up by the high heels that made her stand almost on tiptoe.
The car guzzled a lot of fuel and she seemed to stand there for ages. She was sure the attendant was watching her. Even if the arrival of a red Ferrari wasn't enough to attract his attention, the sight of a semi-naked woman certainly would be. But there was nothing she could do about it.
At long last the tank was full and the pump cut out. She reached into the driver's door and took a hundred-dollar bill from Nina's bag. Now came the really embarrassing part. She turned and walked towards the booth. With the high heels and the chain around her ankles she could only take tiny steps, so her progress seemed infinitely slow. She could see the attendant. He had put his book down and was staring at her, open-mouthed. He was young, perhaps no more than eighteen, with a mass of youthful spots adorning his chin.
Kim held her hands over her mons, though it was a vain attempt at modesty. As she got closer she could see there was no window in the booth, so she couldn't pay from outside. She would have to go into the booth itself and walk right across to the counter.
She got to the plate glass door and swung it open. The booth was raked with shelves displaying oil and other car related products. To the left was a big display of magazines, with some very raunchy titles on the top shelf. But none of the girls staring out from the front pages had on anything quite as revealing as the outfit Kim was wearing.
The attendant stood up. His face was bright red. He was wearing a blue check shirt and faded denim jeans.
'H-hello,' Kim blurted, trying to remain calm. 'Look, I'm in a bit of trouble.'
'You're English,' the youth said stupidly.
'Yes, I am. And some rather cruel friends have played a trick on me. I was at this party, you see—'
'Guess that was some party.'
She pressed herself against the counter so he was unable to see below her waist. 'It was. But as you see, they thought it was funny to leave me out in the middle of nowhere - like this. I've no idea where I am. Can you help? I need to get back to New York.'
'Sure,' he said, and turned to a shelf at the back of the counter, which was filled with maps.
'And do you have something that could cut chain?' Kim went on, feeling a little more confident. 'You see what they did to my ankles.'
'I don't know. I could try. Wait there.'
He disappeared behind a small door at the back of the counter. Kim looked around in case there was anything in the shop she could buy to cover her body, but could see nothing suitable. A few minutes later the youth returned. He was carrying a bolt cutter.
'This should do it, ma'am,' he said brightly. 'Only thing is, I'm going to have to come out there.' He opened a lift top in the counter and stepped from behind it, staring at Kim's beauty. 'That's a real pretty outfit, ma'am,' he said. 'I've never seen anything like it.'
'A little too revealing,' she said, feeling uncomfortable with his close proximity and obvious interest, pressing her belly to the front of the counter so he didn't get a full frontal view. 'W-what's your name?' she asked, blatantly trying to change the subject and divert his attentions.
'Dale.'
He knelt at her feet and examined the manacles. 'You want me to cut the chain? Don't think it'll make much impression on these cuffs.' He was looking up at her, his face a few inches from the white satin suspender on her left thigh.
'That, um, that would be great,' she stuttered.
He put the jaws of the bolt cutter over the chain and pressed in on the long metal hands. The chain snapped easily.
'You've got real beautiful legs, ma'am.' A hand touched her ankle gently, stroking the sleek nylon. 'Finest I've ever seen.'
Kim knew she had to get away; she had to get away before things went too far with this youth, she had to get to New York, and for all she knew Jake Ashley and his minions might be out looking for her right now. She tried to move, but the lad rose quickly and pinned her to the counter. 'Please...' she whispered, feeling his clothed erection prodding into her hip. 'Don't do this.'
'Real beautiful tits, too,' he wheezed, his stale breath wafting around her face, making her fringe dance delicately.
'Look—' Kim was going to try to appease him, but the words failed her as a sweaty palm cupped her right breast through the flimsy cami-bra and mauled it feverishly. The youth started to grind against her like a dog on heat, squashing her so the counter dug painfully into her waist.
'Fucking hell,' he croaked. 'You turn me on.'
Kim managed to squeeze her fists between them and tried to push against his weedy chest, but he was in determined mood. He grabbed her right wrist and forced her hand down to the lump in his jeans. He managed to open her clenched fingers and sandwiched them between his sweaty palm and the lump, moving them in a tight circle.
'Please... I... I have to go...' Kim tried feebly, but the youth wasn't going to be denied such a monumental opportunity. He sank his face to her breasts, and slobbered hungrily over their soft upper slopes and into her deep cleavage. He breathed deeply through his nose, inhaling her scent. Then Kim felt his hips convulse and a damp warmth spread against her captured fingers.
'Oh, fuck...' he groaned, and slumped against the counter. 'Fuck...'
Kim managed to extricate herself from his weakening clutches, grabbed the map and dashed from the booth, and quickly reached the car and locked herself inside. She sat for a few minutes, eyes closed, gathering her thoughts and her breath, when quite suddenly a very strange thing happened; in her mind she saw Jake Ashley. He was looking at her with a stern expression, his steel-blue eyes unblinking. She shook her head and opened her eyes to rid herself of the unsettling spectre.
As she looked across the forecourt at the pathetic figure of the youth, now back behind his counter determinedly looking in any direction but hers, she seemed to hear Jake's voice in her head: 'That's not what you want. That's not what you need. You deserve more than that.' She could hear the beautifully articulated English vowels quite clearly. 'Only I can give you what you seek.'
'No,' she said aloud, and then tried to banish the chilling voice by turning the ignition key, engaging gear, slamming the accelerator to the floor, and screeching away from the forecourt in a plume of rubbery smoke.